The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is testing artificial intelligence to train employees who screen refugee applicants in the US, Reuters reports.
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday that it is a “labour-intensive” training exercise that usually involves senior staff. As part of the experiment, he said, DHS is training cars to behave like refugees so that staff can practice interviewing them. He also added:
“Refugee applicants, given the trauma that they have endured, are reticent to be forthcoming in describing that trauma. So we’re teaching the machine to be reticent as well and to adopt other characteristics of applicants.”
The department plans to develop an interactive application for additional training for immigration officers using so-called generative AI, which creates new content based on past data.
Specifically, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of DHS, will create an AI programme that will tailor training materials to employees and prepare them to make better decisions, the department said.
The AI will not make immigration decisions on its own, the DHS told Reuters. The AI will know country-specific conditions and other information to help employees, Mayorkas added.
The pilot adds to a slew of trials in industry and government looking to cut costs and improve efficiency with AI, especially after the viral launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Such experiments have not been without problems, including issues with translation, incorrect timelines and pronouns.
Among the more “advanced” applications of AI, Mayorkas noted that the department is working to detect anomalies in border crossings by commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. The goal of the innovation is to help the department prevent fentanyl and other contraband from being smuggled into the US.
